Page 7 of Boxing With My Duke
Oh God! She prayed it was Carlton. Finally, the seat was lifted, and a hand reached down.
“It’s all right. You’re safe.”
A sob escaped her as she gripped the big, muscular hand. Carlton helped her out of the black box.
Throwing her arms around his neck, she held on for dear life. “T-thank y-you!” She could barely speak between sobs. All she could do was hold onto Carlton.
His arms went around her, and he pulled her to his chest. “Hush, it’s all right. Everything is all right now.”
The feel of his powerful arms around her and the warmth of his broad chest made her feel safe. Protected.
She didn’t know how long he held her that way. Maybe it was a few moments, maybe an eternity. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You s-saved my life. Th-thank you.”
He stared into her eyes, holding her gaze captive. He angled his head as his gaze traveled down to her mouth and then back up to her eyes, then back down to her mouth.
Was he going to kiss her? Did she want him to kiss her? She realized she did. And that quite shocked her to the core. She closed her eyes and waited. But he didn’t lower his lips. And there was no kiss.
“Come, I’ll help you down,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Foolish. Foolish woman! She’d practically puckered her lips! Catherine opened her eyes but avoided his gaze. She’d been silly and naïve. As foolish as Edward and Serafina. Why would Carlton want to kiss her? He most likely had a bevy of sophisticated mistresses.
Stepping outside the carriage, she spotted the three highwaymen, bleeding, slumped over, and firmly tied around the base of a large tree. “Are they dead?”
“No need,” he said smugly. “The magistrate will take care of the hanging. I’ll send my outrider, Yates, to fetch him.”
“But that will mean we’ll have to stay here and wait.”
“Yes, it will take a few hours.”
“But we don’t have a few hours,” she snapped. “We don’t have time to wait. We need to leave now.” She didn’t mean to sound so abrupt and harsh, but the sting of his rejection was still with her.
Carlton raked his hands through his hair. “Look, I don’t take orders from you. And may I remind you that I just saved your life?”
“Yes, I know, and I thanked you for saving my life. But now that the danger is over. We cannot afford to dally here.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
She looked back at the men tied around the tree. It was a very big tree. An idea flashed through her mind. She turned to Carlton. “Do you have a sheet of paper and a pencil?”
He blew out a breath and stepped back into the carriage. A moment later, he returned with a piece of paper he had torn from the back of his book and a short, fat pencil.
“Excellent,” she said and proceeded to write on a blank sheet of paper. “Now, if you’ll please assist me.” She walked over to the tree and handed Carlton the note. He glanced down at what she’d written, and his lips twitched.
They walked to the tree, and she studied the robbers’ boot tops until she spotted a knife. Pulling it from its sheath, she handed it to Carlton.
Carlton tacked the note well above the heads of the thieves. “Does this meet with your approval?” he asked, crossing his hands over his chest.
“Indeed, it does. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Carlton shook his head and helped her into the carriage.
Catherine looked out the window and smiled at the note hanging above the three unconscious thieves. “There! We can leave now.”
To Whoever Finds these highwaymen?—
These three thieves accosted our carriage and would have killed us were it not for the courage of the Duke of Richmond and his men. Unfortunately, we could not wait for the Magistrate as we were in a terrible hurry. Therefore, we leave the fate of these three miscreants to you.
(P.S. This was not their first hold-up.)
